Or at least 21.
It's not that I don't love the album. I do. It's fantastic, by and far one of the best albums to come out in the past year (if not few years), and she's going to clean up at the Grammys and it'll be great, because it's better than someone like (just off the top of my head) Katy Perry winning a bunch of awards she doesn't deserve.
But honestly, could Adele put out a new record please? It's not just because I need my sister to stop listening to the same four Adele songs on repeat like it's the only music that exists in the world.
There's a distinct growth between Adele's 19 and 21. The 'essence' (lame descriptor, but it'll do) is there, the common link between the two albums, the general feel of who Adele is as a musician. That's what I like best in a sophomore effort. I want to know that you're the same artist, just growing and getting better at your craft. I don't want to hear the same album every time you put out something 'new'. Don't cop out. The best part about art is the terror of evolving and wondering if people will still like you at your new stop on the road. Adele does this wonderfully.
All this probably goes full circle to my hatred of things with too much hype. People hype things up so much and then the product can never live up to the expectations. The worst is that people who don't know what they're talking about are the ones facilitating the hype (which is basically all of the internet these days anyway). So you have some kid who knows very little about music other than what he or she likes to listen to (and there's nothing wrong with that, at the heart of it) telling people that Adele is the best singer ever.
Um, I'm sorry. Best singer ever? No. Great, yes. Unique, yes. Extremely talented, yes. Best singer ever? Hell no.
The more I hear and read about people stating things like that, the less I like Adele and the less desire I have to listen to her music. I know this will pass and that I'll need to listen to Turning Tables like breathing in probably a matter of weeks.
But right now I need a break from all things Adele, and given that my sister lives in this house and everyone on the internet seems to think Adele is the greatest musician alive and oh my god these lyrics apply to everything!, I think I'm going to have a hard time escaping her.
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You know you're totally right. Adele is an amazing singer, but what about the people who have those amazing chops like Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle(sorry if I spelled the name wrong), and Mariah Carey? What about the people with absolutely unforgettable voices that emote so much passion and feeling into something that it makes you shiver. Kids and people seem to have forgotten that there are vocalists that have preceded and will continue to come after Adele. Hands down the woman is amazing, but she's not the best there is. Not by a longshot. I could wax poetic on her growth from 19 to 21 for hours, but there are other albums and artist that are equal to or just better than her. I wish people would see that.
-thebigdisaster